How to overcome shyness in dealing with customers

[odd_artist]

I spent 7 days over the summer sharing a booth at the local farmers market with two other local vendors in my art group. The various vendors were usually different each time so I got to see a lot of different approaches. We didn't want to 'step on toes' in our own booth so we would not try to pull customers away from each others displays, in fact we learned each other's spiels quickly and would chat up each other's goods.

So far as getting folks INTO our booth, I found very few vendors know what to do. Most of them sat behind their display and waited for money to drop in their laps. That doesn't happen. Myself and a few others would work the crowd, speaking with anyone who even looked our general direction. My patter was easy and enticing, inviting folks to 'Come check out my Naughty bits!' and once they came to see what I was talking about explain how they are made.

You need to believe in your wares  and come up with a catchy tag-line like mine. Think of something about your goods that is informative that shoppers might not know and use it to open a conversation. One vendor put up a sign with prices higher than usual and would tell shoppers she was having a sale and the item was actually a cheaper price. If you mention the 'S' word (sale) it creates a feeding frenzy!

You can't annoy your booth neighbors by stealing their customers, but once a shopper's eyes aren't directed at their stuff they are fair game. On the other hand sitting in silence can make a shopper feel like they are intruding. It's a fine line, but you will find it - and if your face doesn't hurt from smiling all day then you didn't smile enough!

[TwistMySister]

great info! thanks alot  ahah not looking forward to my face acheing though  the sale idea is a really good one, especially if they are infact quite cheap in the first place, some people dont realise its already been priced like that instead of having it high/unrealistic to start off with. showing that it could have been is a nice tip 

[fiberartist219]

Here's some easy ice breakers:

"Hi, how are you doing today?"

"Is this your first time at XYZ craft fair?"

"What do you think of the rest of the show?"

"Want to see some photos of my work?" (This one helps educate people about how you do it. The more they know, the more interested they become. It makes it easier to recognize your hard work when they can see what goes into it. I like to have a series of photos of my work in progress. It eases the tension without asking for a sale right away.)

Then, as people leave, I ask if they want one of my business cards. That way, if they decide later that they want something or they have a special order, they know how to reach me.